Last week was an exciting week at the Massachusetts State House, as both the House and Senate voted to override the Governor’s veto of the Work & Family Mobility Act, making Massachusetts the 17th state to ensure that all qualified residents, regardless of immigration status, are able to get a driver’s license.
You can see how your legislators voted below.
VOTES Act Advances…But With a Big Gap
Last week, the House and Senate released their final version of the VOTES Act. The bill contains many important reforms, like making the option to vote early-by-mail permanent, expanding early voting options, and strengthening the protections for jail-based voting. Unfortunately, however, the House’s opposition to Same Day Registration carried the day, and Massachusetts will continue to lag behind our neighbors with our arbitrary and exclusionary voter registration cutoff. The bill would shorten the deadline from 20 days before an election to 10 days, but that’s still 10 days too many.
The bill passed the Senate last week and is on track to pass the House soon.
Read a full write-up of the bill here.
The ‘Segrenomics’ of Education
Many of the educational issues and controversies we face today — state takeovers, standardized testing, charter schools, many more — have interconnected historical roots and mutually reinforcing current impacts that result in huge gaps in school quality and huge gaps in student opportunity. Understanding that history is crucial for finding solutions.
Join the important discussion with Dr. Rooks about her research on: segrenomics, connecting the dots between economics with segregated schooling and community organizers from across the state on their work.
RSVP here.
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Community Forum on Suffolk & Plymouth County DA Races
We’ll be joining community partners from the Justice for Massachusetts coalition for a forum with the Suffolk and Plymouth County DA candidates on Monday, June 20, from 6 pm to 9 pm.
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Kevin Hayden (Suffolk County)
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm: Rahsaan Hall (Plymouth County)
8:00 pm – 9:00 pm: Ricardo Arroyo (Suffolk County)
RSVP here.
Your Plans for this Weekend (…And the Next…and the Next…)? Canvassing for Fair Share!
Find a canvass near you at https://www.mobilize.us/fairshareamendment2022/.
